N.O.V is along with the main lifts & assistance...Not instead of assistance:) It's basically high intensity conditioning which is functional...

A nice 1-2 mile run 2-3 times a week well still serve you well but as you're still after weight gain I'd say to keep cardio relatively easy & limited eg a 2 mile walk, A low level stationary bike cycle (though we all know how soul destroying treadmills & the like are)

I'm into more death metal, grind ect but I like converge. Saw them along with Gaza not long back, Was amazing.....

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

N.O.V is along with the main lifts & assistance...Not instead of assistance:) It's basically high intensity conditioning which is functional...

A nice 1-2 mile run 2-3 times a week well still serve you well but as you're still after weight gain I'd say to keep cardio relatively easy & limited eg a 2 mile walk, A low level stationary bike cycle (though we all know how soul destroying treadmills & the like are)

I'm into more death metal, grind ect but I like converge. Saw them along with Gaza not long back, Was amazing.....

Well, shit. I wish I had access to a Prowler or treadmill pushes were an option. I don't do any conditioning right now and I think it'd be beneficial overall. Maybe since spring is coming I'll just start biking back and forth to the gym - it's pretty flat, not a long distance, and a good warm-up and cool down.

I've seen Converge quite a few times, always with an interesting assortment of bands that draw a pretty diverse crowd but always a good time.

I wouldn't worry over cardio to much. You got a great base & you know how to plan food so the gains should be great (Though I'm gonna badger you to death when you start 5/3/1 to just eat when you want haha)

Biking to the gym is a good option, I have a 20mins walk usually & I do a really quick mile on a treadmill to warm up 4 times a week. Then I walk home again so it's nothing heavy.

I agree with the star wars comment btw

I'm a nerd but I have come to realise that nerds make for the best lifters....

Off to read my walking dead comic..

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

I wouldn't worry over cardio to much. You got a great base & you know how to plan food so the gains should be great (Though I'm gonna badger you to death when you start 5/3/1 to just eat when you want haha)

Biking to the gym is a good option, I have a 20mins walk usually & I do a really quick mile on a treadmill to warm up 4 times a week. Then I walk home again so it's nothing heavy.

I agree with the star wars comment btw

I'm a nerd but I have come to realise that nerds make for the best lifters....

Off to read my walking dead comic..

I plan on being a lot more lax about eating once 5/3/1 kicks in - I want to grow on this program and the only damn way I will is by eating big to get big.

Definitely plan on biking since I'm starting a new job that is, literally, right across the street from my gym.

And nerds are the best lifters. How far into Walking Dead are you? Definitely one of my favorites series currently out though I'm way behind.

Off to test squat 1RM; going to use 135/140 as my weight for the formula Wendler provides since that's around 80% of my consistent working sets of 170/175. I have no problem with underestimating my max, though, because things are going to get serious rather quickly with this program.

I've been into loads of stuff over the years...favs being spawn & hellboy. I got a lot ofComic/sci-fi tattoos haha

I'm being whisked away by my gf next week for a surprise birthday get away so this will be my first break from lifting since last summer. Have read people just skip the week they miss but I have re/plotted the sheet so I just pick up where I left off.

I under shot all my lifts, nothing wrong at all doing that.

Good luck with the testing this week. Shall be a great journey once you get cracking

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

I've been into loads of stuff over the years...favs being spawn & hellboy. I got a lot ofComic/sci-fi tattoos haha

I'm being whisked away by my gf next week for a surprise birthday get away so this will be my first break from lifting since last summer. Have read people just skip the week they miss but I have re/plotted the sheet so I just pick up where I left off.

I under shot all my lifts, nothing wrong at all doing that.

Good luck with the testing this week. Shall be a great journey once you get cracking

Comic books were pretty much my life as a child - the only thing I ever wanted for Christmas/my birthday were comic book subscriptions and I have a pretty substantial collection. Maybe I'll take a picture one of these days. Spawn was a favorite of mine growing up, too, thanks to my cousins.

Enjoy your break from lifting - I bet you come back stronger than ever since you haven't had a break in so long. I imagine it's going to drive you a bit nuts, though.

All things end and my run of PHAT is no different. I’ll be posting a “final” recap of the program, ranging from how it helped improve my lifts, the things I liked and didn’t like about it, and all of that self-analytical jazz and perhaps even throw in a more “comprehensive” before/after photo spread. As that will take some time, I thought I’d let everyone know how this final week of the cycle will differ.

Rather than running five-day power/hypertrophy split, I will be doing a four day split, testing my maxes for squat, bench press, deadlift, and overhead press so, after a “light week,” I can start running Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program.

I chose 5/3/1 for one reason: to be stronger each day than I was the day before and the program was designed to accomplish this, physically and mentally. As Wendler states in the 5/3/1 handbook,

“The last set of the day is the all-out set. You’ll be going for as many reps as possible … Anything over and above that builds strength, muscle and character. Doing the prescribed reps shows you and your body that you’re strong enough for the workout. The extra reps are your way of dominating the workout and getting better.

For the program to be run correctly and efficiently, however, I have to test my maxes. As I lift solo, “true” 1RMs are out of the question and, as Wendler suggests, I’d much rather underestimate these numbers as the program becomes much more daunting as it progress. This will also leave me the first few weeks to nail my form down even harder so that once the weight becomes legitimately heavy I won’t have to question it.

So, for the next four training days, I will be using the following template:

These “minimal work, maximum effort” will, hopefully, allow me to play my rest days by ear. I haven’t committed to a “two day-on, one day-off, two day-on” or an “every other day” plan for this very reason – if I feel up to testing bench the day after squats, I’ll do it; if I don’t, I’ll give myself a rest day. My goal here is to get the most genuine results without killing myself or underestimating myself. I’m also hoping that by using the above template, a week-long deload after testing can be avoided. Again, though, if I need one, I’ll take it and lower my calories for that week to around 1,800.

Once the need, or lack thereof, for a deload has been determined, 5/3/1 will commence and my calories will begin a slow and steady perpetual shift upward (until I lock down my first competition and decide what weight I would like to fall into). I will be using the first cycle to try out the three assistance templates I believe could be the most beneficial for my goal(s): Boring But Big, Triumvirate, and N.O.V. On the fourth and final “deload” week of that cycle, I’ll start running the template I’ve deemed to be the “right” fit and I will stick with it for the next three-to-four cycles.

I will not make the same mistakes I made with previous programs. I will not make personal adjustments. I will not lower my calories once the scale starts going up. I will trust the process. I will stay the course. I will get bigger. I will get stronger.

Great summing up:) something to read while it's 4:47 & I have two hrs left of my shift...

For N.O.V to really work I def think you need a prowler & a sledge, other wise it's just conditioning.Sorry if I didn't explain that better before hand.

I love the programmed assistance template, You already know/have two loadable lifts & no dicking about thinking what to lift.

If you settle on Triumvirate don't be scared of adding weight to stuff like dips when you need more of a challenge . Just as long as it doesn't kill the tricep & bench day goes out the window (though you should have a two day gap between upper/lower days)

I'm almost as excited as you that you're so bumped for this haha

This is always my advice: all you need is self belief, once you have this everything else will fall into place.

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Great summing up:) something to read while it's 4:47 & I have two hrs left of my shift...

For N.O.V to really work I def think you need a prowler & a sledge, other wise it's just conditioning.Sorry if I didn't explain that better before hand.

I love the programmed assistance template, You already know/have two loadable lifts & no dicking about thinking what to lift.

If you settle on Triumvirate don't be scared of adding weight to stuff like dips when you need more of a challenge . Just as long as it doesn't kill the tricep & bench day goes out the window (though you should have a two day gap between upper/lower days)

Looking over the programmed assistance template, I think I'm going to give that one a try during the third week. I love how it's possible to run this so many different ways, my lifting for the next year+ is set.

My gym was thinking about investing in a Prowler, actually, because the members get to decide where the extra money goes and, apparently, a few of us have mentioned it. We'll see if that happens. I'm going to be adding cardio in every lift day but mostly just steady-state biking to get myself ready for the trek home after lifting once the weather permits.

Weighted dips, chins, and pulls are a long way away - can't do a single rep unassisted, though, my progress on rack chins has been insane the last few weeks. I feel so damn strong doing them between bench sets.

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

After I dropped from 202lb (over weight unfit meat eater) down to 138lb I had become a little over obsessive with food.

After moving back to my home town I joined the gym. I'd run 3 days a week, 6 miles. Do a 5 day split & also goto a keysi class once a week.

Sometimes I'd do a huge loop on a Saturday & run to the gym, 8 miles (12.8km) even before lifting a weight. I was just frightened to death of getting fat again.

Looking at pics now when I was light I think I look a little ill, super fit but it doesn't look very healthy.

When I had to buy an xsmall t & 28" jeans it clicked that I needed to gain weight. So I started the process of talking, reading, listening as much as I could.

Slowly I cut back the running, I just started to generally eat more & train smarter. The gains over a relatively short amount of time have been great.

I feel stronger, feel I have more energy & look a damn sight healthier. it's why I bang on about over training, I've done it & lived it so I feel I can have an opinion on it! As well as gaining mass.

Don't mean to give you my life story but a lot I read here really mirrors what I use to think, do & now what I want.

Just don't be to afraid of gaining weight, what's the worse that can happen? Your lifts go up a little more

It's pretty cool we both are taking the same journey. Being big & strong all year round being the goal! not just 8 months of the year

_________________"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

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